Police raid Long Beach medical marijuana collective

LONG BEACH — Long Beach police raided a downtown medical marijuana provider Tuesday, hours before the City Council was scheduled to hear a report on enforcement of a 4-month-old ban on dispensaries.| PHOTOS

The raid by narcotics detectives on THC Downtown, 301 Atlantic Ave., resulted in the arrest of three employees and two security guards, said LBPD Lt. Michael Pennino. The suspects names weren't immediately available.

According to Pennino, the suspects would be charged with misdemeanor violations of the city's prohibition on medical marijuana collectives that didn't pass a short-lived permit process.

The council in 2010 voted to allow collectives that were selected through a lottery and met rigorous regulatory requirements, but THC wasn't one of them.

In February, the council banned all collectives, but gave 18 permitted ones a six-month reprieve pending a state Supreme Court ruling over California's medical marijuana laws.

Residents complained about criminal activity related to the 2-month-old THC Downtown dispensary, leading to the police action, Pennino said.

Several residents interviewed Tuesday didn't wish to be named, but spoke of marijuana customers urinating and defecating on sidewalks and porches.

On Monday, neighbors said a dead, stabbed cat was found on a doorstep.

Pennino confirmed the accounts.

"That sums it up," he said. "It's troubling to the neighbors who have to live here."

Police serving a search warrant at the address said workers inside refused entry, forcing officers to break through four doors.

As a steady stream of apparent customers were turned away from the dispensary Tuesday, officers searching the premises carried out several computers, electronic equipment and glass jars of marijuana.

One resident observing the scene who asked not to be named said that since the dispensary had opened, there have been patrons loitering, conducting drug deals and threatening locals.

"I've got my (child) to raise," he said. "Now there are all these miscreants."